Tree harvester

ABSTRACT

A mobile tree harvester, especially on a wheeled frame, having tree severing, transferring and delimbing apparatus or processes combined. Specifically a harvester operating to cut, manipulate or transfer from a vertical to horizontal position and delimb full length trees at the site. Standing trees are severed at the ground by a cutter such as an hydraulically operated shear located at the front of the machine. A delimber, fixed in relation to the cutter and operating generally longitudinally of the machine, receives the severed tree, delimbs it out to usable length and then automatically tops off the rest. A tree transfer mechanism is operable between the cutter and delimber to grasp the severed tree above the cutter, lift it through a prescribed arc and deposit it on the delimber. An axial hold or clamp secures the tree against axial movement in the delimber while the cutter and transfer mechanism return for a second tree. A preferred embodiment of the harvester has a combined processor able to swivel on the frame as a unit in a limited horizontal arc, about 35* total, and employs a crowd boom of restricted reach, about six to ten feet, to extend the cutter and transfer mechanism; the combined effect of which is to reduce the availability of trees in a given path of advance, this however increasing overall productivity of the machine by forcing it to rely on its greater mobility to clear a greater number of paths. A number of improvements in various parts and subassemblies of the processor are also disclosed.

United States Patent [1 1 [451 Sept. 16, 1975 Guy et al.

[ 5 TREE HARVESTER [75] Inventors: Douglas Stanley Guy, St. Thomas;

Ian McKenzie, Lambeth, both of Canada; Charles Robert Sturtz, Jr.,Romulus, Mich.

[73] Assignee: Clark Equipment Company,

Buchanan, Mich.

[221 Filed: May 25, 1973 [21 Appl. No.: 363,936

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 6, 1973 Canada 163290 [52]US. Cl. 144/3 D; 144/2 Z; 144/34 E; 144/309 AC [51] Int.- Cl. A016 23/08{58] Field of Search... 144/2 Z, 3 D, 34 E, 309 AC, 144/34 R [56]References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,618.647 11/1971 Stuart 144/3 DX 3,623,521 11/1971 Shields 144/3 D X 3,643,709 2/1972 McColl 144/309 AC X 3,643,711 2/1972 Puna 144/2 2 3,709,267 1/1973 Kurelek 144/3 D X3,720,248 3/1973 Mellgrcn.. 144/3 D X 3,734,152 5/1973 Shields 144/3 DPrimary Examiner-Donald R. Schram Assistant ExaminerW. D. Bray Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Jack E. Toliver 5 7 ABSTRACT A mobile tree harvester,especially on a wheeled frame, having tree severing, transferring anddelimbing apparatus or processes combined. Specifically a harvesteroperating to cut, manipulate or transfer from a vertical to horizontalposition and delimb full length trees at the site. Standing trees aresevered at the ground by a cutter such as an hydraulically operatedshear located at the front of the machine. A delimber, fixed in relationto the cutter and operating generally longitudinally of the machine,receives the severed tree, delimbs it out to usable length and thenautomatically tops off the rest. A tree transfer mechanism is operablebetween the cutter and delimber to grasp the severed tree above thecutter, lift it through a prescribed arc and deposit it on the delimber.An axial hold or clamp secures the tree against axial movement in thedelimber while the cutter and transfer mechanism return for a secondtree.

A preferred embodiment of the harvester has a combined processor able toswivel on the frame as a unit in a limited horizontal arc, about 35total, and employs a crowd boom of restricted reach, about six to tenfeet, to extend the cutter and transfer mechanism; the combined effectof which is to reduce the availability of trees in a given path ofadvance, this however increasing overall productivity of the machine byforcing it to rely on its greater mobility to clear a greater number ofpaths.

A number of improvements in various parts and subassemblies of theprocessor are also disclosed.

16 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENTEU SEP 1 61975 sum 1 pg 9 PATENTEU 175 SHEET 3 BF 9 PATENTEDSEF M 15 3.905407 SZEET 5 {1F 9 FIG. 4

PATENTED l 5 7 SHEET 8 0F 9 FIG. 4A

PATENTED SEP 1 8 I975 SHEET 8 BF 9 |l| IIIIII IIIIII PATENTEDSEP 1 61975SHEET 9 [If 9 FIG. 7

TREE HARVESTER FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention pertains to the artof tree length harvesters and more particularly to harvesters of thesocalled combined type i.e., combining several operations or processessuch as shearing, delimbing. topping and bunking or storage of processedtrees.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The limited productive capacity achievedwith a chain saw for felling and a separate mechanical processor forremoving the limbs and topping trees has long been realized as alimitation on the overall output of logging operations.

Increased productivity using mobile harvester vehicles adapted to bedriven into the timber area where the operator selects trees forprocessing and moves from tree to tree on the site has been a relativelyrecent development.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART One type of tree length harvester delimbsand tops the standing tree, fells it and then piles the processed treelengths to facilitate skidding or extraction by other machines. Theproductive capacity of these harvesters, while greater than a chain saw,is still relatively low because one tree at a time is processed, i.e.,sequential operation.

Another type of tree length harvester first fells the tree and thenremoves the limbs. Separate mechanisms for felling, delimbing andtopping are employed which permit distinct functions to be performed inoverlapping timed relation, i.e., the felling head may be returned for asecond tree while the first tree is being delimbed and topped. Asincrease in productivity over the harvester having purely sequentialoperation is thus possible because of partial simultaneous operation.Machines which purport to process trees simultaneously have beenproposed where a felling head is mounted on a telescoping boom rotatingin a horizontal plane independently of a delimber beam. The boom mayswing 90 in either direction, and must always return into alignment withthe delimber beam.

Analysis of the time-function of the latter machines has indicated thatthe greatest consumption of time occurs during the felling cycle, i.e.,severing and transferring the trees from a vertical to horizontalposition. Therefore, the harvester which offers maximum productivitywould be one which minimizes the felling cycle time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A tree length harvester is provided comprisinga mobile frame carrying combined processor means operating to sever,transfer, delimb, top and bunk full trees felled by the machine. Theprocessor includes a tree severing unit (such as a shear) fixed inrelation to the limb removal apparatus (delimber beam) having means(delimber and topping knives) operating in a substantially horizontalmode to stip limbs from the felled tree and remove the unuseable top andan accumulator (rack) for storage of fully processed trees on themachine. A tree transfer mechanism (crowd boom and grapple arm)interposed between the tree severing unit and limb removal apparatusgrasps the severed tree and transposes it into horizontal alignment withthelimb re moval apparatus solely as a function of movement of amechanical linkage. V v

The felling cycle time is the time required for selecting and shearing astandin tree and thereafter transfer ring or manipulating it onto thedelimber beam in a horizontal position. A combination of featurescontribute to the over-all reduction in the felling cycle in the presentinvention. V i

In the preferred embodiment of tree harvester diS-. closedherein, thetree severing unit (shear), limb removal apparatus (delimber beam) andtree transfer mechanism (crowd boom and grapple arm) are fixed in acommon plane such that no lateral movement of the severed tree occursduringv the felling cycle. Thus the grapple space above the shear needbe no wider than required to balance the tree on the shear blade.

A further feature is that the tree transfer mechanism includes a crowdboom, i.e., a longitudinally reciprocated beam. More specifically, thecrowd boom telescopes into a stationary main beam andslides in and outon rollers carrying the grapple arm and shear with it. The reach of thecrowd boom is preferably limited to about six feet.

Furthermore, the limb removal apparatus (delimber beam) is stationaryrelative, to the main beam such that the entire processor swivels orslews on the frame. However, the slewing arc is preferably limitedtoabout thirty-five degress.

Specifically, it is the objective to limit the extension or reach of thecrowd boom in conjunction with the slewing angle to establish optimumfelling conditions. The operator is required to focus his attention in arelatively narrow fellingpath just wide enough to clear a path for themachine. The reduction in the area of Vop-. eration actually increasesproductivity by forcingthe operator to rely on the machines greatermobility. That is by cutting a narrower path, but cutting a greaternumber of paths in a given time, the combined felling time will bereduced and overall productivity will be increased. 7

In addition, the felling time per tree is a factor. In the presentinvention a narrow cutting zone is established. A severed tree istransposed from an essentially vertical to a substantially horizontalposition solely by actionof a mechanical linkage without requiringconcentration or attention by the operator regardless of the position ofthe tree base relativeto the ground line of the machine within thisnarrow cutting zone. Thatis, a finite cutting zone extends above andbelow the ground line of the machine. Trees growing within this zone areconsidered available for harvesting. J v

Specifically, a parallel linkage on the grapple arm maintains a fixedattitude of the shear and grapple within the limited cutting zone. Thisreduces the prob lem of parallax also since the operator can easilyjudge the height of the shear from' the ground and judge the degree oftilt of the tree. However, and more important, the parallel linkagepivots with the grapple arm and causes the tree, grapple and shear totake a prescribed arc ending automatically in alignmentwith the delimberbeam. Thus the operator is free immediately upon shearing the tree toconcentrate on the next tree. In other words, adjustment of the treeattitude in trans ferring to the delimber beam is entirely the functionof the parallel linkage.

It is also contemplated that several novel features of the harvesterreside in the various combination'of parts and components as will bedescribed in more detail hereinafter in the detailed description of theinvention which proceeds with a description of the drawings wherein 1DESCRIPTION OF THE vDRAWING FIG. I is a side elevational view of thetree harvester showing the extended position of the crowd boom in dotdash lines and the lowered position of the grapple arm; 7 1

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tree harvester in FIG. 1 indicating theoptimum slewing angleof'about 35 for maximum productivity;

FIG. '3 is a partial horizontal sectional view showing the hose rack andcrowd boom fully retracted in full lines and extended in dot-dash lines;

FIG. 3a is a partial cross sectional viewof the hose rack and crowdboom; I

FIGS. 4 and 4a are respectively plan and side views of the-tree shearand grapple head;

5 FIGS. 4b and 4c are respectively sectional plan views separatelyof'the shear and grapple of the head in FIGS. 4, 4a;

FIGS. 5, 5a and 5b are respectively side plan and end views of thedelimber carriage;

FIG. 5c is a fragmentary sectional view showing a portion of the toppingknife release mechanism of the delimber carriage; A s

FIG. 6 illustrates the relative positions of the delimber carriage anddelimber beam and the associated cable drive therefor after a shorttravel of the carriage in a delimbing stroke;

- FIG. 6a is a diagram depicting the drive drum cable reaving for thedelimber beam "drive drum on the end of the main beam and FIG. 7 depictsfour positions of the. tree transfer mechanism from a lowered positionwithin'the cutting zone to an uppermost position where the tree, shearand grapple are in alignment with the delimber carriage.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a tree harvester 10having an articulated front andrear section l2, l4 hinged on a commonsteering axis 15. Two engines -(not shown), one mounted in the rearsection 14 and the other in the front section 12, deliver power towheels 16, 17 and operate the machine components. An operators cab 20 atthe fore part of the front section 12 containsan operators seat andcontrols from which the operator is in a good position to observe theshear 22 and operate the controls. A tree transfer mechanism 24, whichincludes the shear 22, also provides a tree grapple 25 above the shear,a grapple arm 26, a crowd boom 28, the forward most position of which isdepicted by the dot-dash lines in FIG. 1, and a parallel linkage 29. Thecrowd boom 28 telescopes into the front end of .a stationary main beam27. At the opposite end of themain beam 27 is a cable drive drumassembly 30 powered by a reversible hydraulic motor 31 that drives thelimb removal mechanism 32 which includes a delimber beam 33 rolling onthe main beam 27 and a delimber and topping carriage 34 which travels onthe delimberbeam 33 in a manner described more in detal hereinafter. Anaxial hold or clamp 35 secured to the front of the main beam 27 gripsthe butt end of a severed tree'deposited in the carriage 34 by the treetransfer mechanism 24 (only the dotted line of the tree grapple 25 beingshown in FIG. 1 in the fully raised position of the grapple arm 26). Theclamp 35 holds the tree against axial movement while the delimber andtopping knives on the carriage 34 removes the limbs and top off the treeas the carriage travels down the delimber beam. A bunk or accumulator 40for collecting delimbed and topped trees dropped from the delimber beamincludes hinged arms 41 which may be lowered to drop a bundle ofprocessed trees on the ground.

The combined processor includes the shear 22, tree transfer. and. limbremoval mechanisms 24, 32 and bunk 40 all of which swivel as a unit withthe main beam 27 on a trunnion 36. A trunnion cylinder 37 (FIG. 2) issecured to the frame on one end and may be extended or retracted causingthe combined processor to slew or swivel in a limited horizontal arc ofabout 35 or just wide enough to clear a path for the machine to drivethrough as indicated in FIG. 2. Locating points 38, 39 indicate the leftand right inner limits of the are made by the center of the shear 22with the crowd boom 28 in its fully retracted position while locatingpoints 38' 39' are on the left and right ends of the outer are made bythe shear when the crowd boom is fully extended.

The foregoing general description of the various components will nowproceed with a more detailed description with occasional referencebackto FIGS. I and 2 where needed.

THE SHEAR Referring toFIGS. 4, 4a, 4hv shear 22 is mounted on agenerally vertical frame 45 pivoted at 46 on the end of the grapple arm26. The shear 22 comprises a pair of blade holders 46. carrying semicicular blades 47 shown in FIG. 4 in the open condition. Holders 46 arepivoted on one end of a yoke 48 pivotally mounted to the frame 45intermediate its ends at 50. Extending between the rear ends of theyokes 48 is an hydraulic cylinder 51. It is important to note that thecylinder 51 is at a higher elevation than the shear blades 47 (FIG. 4a)and the yokes descend from the mounting at each end of the cylinder 51to the plane of the shear blades 47 at the front where the I holders 46are pivotally mounted. It is also an important feature of the shear thatthe shear blades 47 close with a.positive arc (FIG. 4b) i.e., there islittle or no tendency for the blades to come together progressivelytoward the front or have a scissors action which would tend to push thetree out or force the shear off the tree. The positive closing action ofshear blades 47 is a result of the geometry of the linkage includingsecondary links 52 pivotally mounted to theframe at 53 on one end and onthe other end carrying the inner ends of the blade holders 46. It willthus be seen that the closing of the blades 47 is a compound movementinvolving the main yokes 48 controlling the major arc of the blades withthe secondary links 52 swinging inwardly controlling the heal of theblade holders 46 as the cylinder 51 is extended on the cutting stroke.One advantage of having the shear cylinder 51 on a different plane fromthe blades 47 is to avoid snow packing, i.e., repeated closing motionwould otherwise tend to pack snow or mud behind the secondary links 52jambing the shear or causing damage.

THE TREE GRAPPLE upper part of frame 45 above the shear 22. A pair ofgrapple arms 54, each having vertically spaced fingers 55 (FIG. 4a), isprovided above the shear on grapple sleeves 56. A novel linkage 58serves to actuate'the arms 54 as the grapple cylinder 59 is extended orretracted. The linkage 58 includes a crank 60 moving with the sleeve 56of one arm. A cross link 61' extends across and connects with a crank 62on the opposite sleeve 56 of the other grapple arm such that by extending the cylinder 59 from the position shown in FIG. 40, the grapple arms54 will swing inwardly together to the dot-dash line position depictedin FIG. 40.

The shear cylinder 51 and grapple cylinder 59 are independentlycontrolled by an hydraulic circuit which will allow the operator toclose the grapple while the shear is open or vice versa or close bothsimulta neously.

Noted especially is the compact arrangement of the shear and grapple.That is the severed'tree will be held by the spaced fingers 55 of thegrapple arms while the severed butt end rests on the closed blades ofthe shear below, butthe spacing between the grapple fingers 55 is onlysufficient to balance the tree and a wider spacing is not necessary toprovide lateral support for swinging the tree for reasons as will beexplained be low.

THE DELIMBER KNIVES Referring now to FIGS. 5, 5a, 5b and 5c, thedelimber and topping carriage 34 has rollers 65 rotatably mounted on thecarriage frame 66 which enables it to be pulled along the upper web 63of the delimber beam 33. One end of a cable 126 is anchored at the frontof the carriage frame for pulling it along the beam 33 in the delimbingcycle while a cable 132 is anchored at the opposite end for returning itto the start position depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A set of curved delimber knives includes a stationary bottom knive 70and a pair of pivoted knives 72 which close upon the tree substantiallyencircling it in conjunction with the bottom knife 70. The curvedcutting edge 73 on the bottom knife forms, together with the cuttingedges 74 on the pivoted knives, a substantially continuously adjustiblecutting primeter that follows the contour and taper of the tree fromadjacent the severed butt end to the top. Flanking the delimber beam oneach side and extending longitudinally of the delimber carriage is apair of cylindrical housings or tubes 75 held by a pair of transverselyextending cross webs 76. A pair of sleeves 77 is journaled between thecross webs 76, one on each side of the delimber axis, carrying thepivoted knives 74 in staggered relationship to permit closing on thetree. Each sleeve has a crank 78 at one end which is linked by means ofa connecting rod 79 to a heavy coil spring 80 housed in each of thecylindrical housings 75. Stationary on the main beam 28 is a cam block82 having a vertical abutment 83. Rollers 84 riding on the cam surfaces81 of the cam block 82 actuate a cocking mechanism, including levers 85,which simultaneously, torsionally cocks each spring 80. In the process,collars 86 rotate so as to pivot the knives 72 to the fully opened orbacked-off position (FIG. 5b) when the rollers 84 are resting on thelands 87 (FIG. 5a) of the cam block 82. It is important to note that thepivoted knives 72 are cockedin the relatively short distance travelledby the rollers 84. This has the advantage that limbs growing close tothe base of the tree will not be missed since the pivoted knives 72engage the tree quickly.

THE TOPPING KNIVES A plunger 90 is engageable with the abutment 83 anddepresses a coil spring 94 within a barrel 93 of the delimber andtopping carriage 34. In the fully compressed state of the spring 94 apair of connecting rods 96 extending through slots 97 on opposite sidesof the barrel 93 are carried by the plunger 90 rotating topping knifesleeves on each side of the carriage thereby cocking the topping knives98 in the fully opened position as shown in FIGS. 5, 5a. In thisposition, a dog 102 (FIG. 50) mounted on a rotatable sleeve 103 dropsbehind a shoulder 105 on the plunger 90 holding it in the depressedcondition. The topping knives 98 are held open by the dog until atrigger mechanism is operable to rotate the sleeve 103 against the forceof spring 105 releasing the dog 102. The trigger mechanism comprises apair of actuators 106, 107 (FIG. 512) on the sleeve 103 either of whichis capable of tripping the topping knives. While the carriage 34 travelson the delimber beam, either one of two things can happen to release thedog 102. Either the carriage travels the length of the tree to the pointwhere its size 110, as depicted in FIG. 5b, is no longer great enough tobe useful and the remainder can be topped off, in which event thepivoted delimbing knives 72 close down upon the tree to the point wherea detent 1060 on the one crank 78 engages the actuator 106 releasing thedog 102 allowing the topping knives to pivot inwardly; or, the length ofthe tree is great enough that its size at the end of the delimber beamexceeds the minimum size 110 and the actuator 107 is tripped by a cam(not shown) near the end of the delimber beam such that the dog 102 isreleased. In either case, the spring 94 is released causing the toppingknives 98 to swing inwardly behind the bottom delimbing knife 70 intoengagement with the tree. The power of the spring 98 need be only greatenough to bring the knives 98 against the tree and thereafter themovement of the carriage relative to the tree forces the knives throughthe tree.

THE DELIMBER DRIVE Referring to FIGS. 6, 6a there is a cable drive forthe delimber beam 33 and carriage 34 driven by the reversible hydraulicmotor 31. The motor drives a drum (FIG. 6a) rotatably mounted in thedrive mechanism 30 on the end of the stationary main beam 27. Two cables121, 123 are anchored on the drum 120, one on each side. The oppositeend of cable 121 is attached at 124 to the rear of the delimber beamwhile the opposite end of cable 123 attaches at 125 to the front of thebeam. Rotation of the drive drum 120 clockwise winds the cable 123 intothe grooves of the drum as the cable 121 is unwound from the same grovespropelling the delimber beam 33 rearwardly. Reversing the motor 3]drives the drum 120 in the opposite direction returning the beam. Theuse of one drum for two cables effectively reduces the cable angle tothe beam axis and lessens the possibility of a malfunction or entanglingbranches.

The cable system (FIG. 6) for the delimber and topping carriage 34includes the cable 126 which is anchored at 128 to the main beam 27 atone end. It travels around a sheave 129 rotatably-mounted at the end ofthe delimber beam and is anchored at the opposite end 130 to the frontof the carriage 34. A second cable 132 is anchored at 131 to the mainbeam. It passes around a sheave 135 on the opposite end of the dclimberbeam and is anchored at 137 to the rear of the delimber carriage.

It will be seen that the cables 126, 132 are fixed relative to thedelimber beam. Thus the delimber and topping carriage 34 is pulled alongthe delimber beam by its extension relative to the main beam. Thedelimber beam and delimber carriage are shown in their relativepositions in FIG. 6 after only a short initial extension. it beingappreciate that the carriage moves twice as far as the beam for a givenextension. At full extension, the carriage 34 will have traveled thefull length of the beam delimbing the tree 140 as it proceeds andtopping off the end as the prescribed length or diameter is reached.

THE GRAPPLE ARM AND CROWD BOOM In FIGS. 1 and 2 the tree transfermechanism 24 is shown to include the crowd boom 28 which telescopes inthe front end of the main beam 27. The grapple arm 26 is pivotallymounted at the distal end of the downwardly and rearwardly directedextension of the crowd boom. The crowd boom will extend or retract, asdepicted in FIG. 1, when an hydraulic cylinder (not shown) housed in themain beam is actuated by the operator. The arm 26 extends generallydownwardly and forwardly from the stationary pivotal mounting on thecrowd boom. Pivotal motion of the arm is accomplished by extension orretraction of an hydraulic cylinder 26a mounted behind the downwardextension of the crowd boom.

The crowd boom extension also provides a second stationary pivot axis onwhich is connected a pair of hydraulic cylinders 26b in side-by-siderelationship. The cylinders 26b may, however, be solid links if desiredwithout detracting from the invention as will become apparent. Theparrallel linkage 29 includes the cylinclers 26b, arm 26 and a pair oflinks 29a pivotally mounted at lower ends on the arm 26 and at theirupper ends to'the cylinders 26b. A second pair of links 29b connects atthe upper ends to the links 29a and extends forwardly connecting at thelower ends to spaced bosses 290 on the shear and grapple frame 45.

It is significant at this point to note that the arm 26 together withthe cylinders 26b and the links 29a form a quadric chain or four-barlinkage. This produces par allel motion when pivoting the arm 26 suchthat less than 90 of rotation of the arm 26 accomplishes a full quarterturn displacement of the shear, grapple and tree as depicted in FIG. 7.FIG. 7 is a diagram depicting the relative positions of the arm 26,cylinders 26b and links 29a, 29b at each of four different locationsstarting from the lower-most position within the cutting zone A, whichextends above and below the ground line of the machine GL, going to afirst intermediate raised position, a second intermediate raisedposition, and tinally to a fully raised position. The tree, severed andready to lift, is slightly inclined to the rear with respect to verticalin the lower position such that the tree has a slight clockwise movementrelative to the grapple arm pivot. At the first intermediate raisedposition the attitude of the tree has only slightly increased the degreeof tilt and in the cutting zone A, remains substantially unchanged dueto the parallel linkage 29. The tilt gradually increases as the radialposition of the arm 26 changes such that at the uppermost position ofthe arm. the tree has assumed a substantially horizontal alignment withthe axis of the delimber carriage 34 solely by virtue of the geometry ofthe linkage. The cylinders 26b are extended only when it is desired topick up a fallen tree or cut a tree tilted away from the machine otherwise a solid link could be substituted without changing the movement ofthe linkage. This relieves the operator of the responsibility oforienting the tree and material reduces the time lag in the treetransfer operation.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 3a the hydraulic cylinders at the end of the crowdboom are supplied by hydraulic hoses housed within a hose rack mountedbeneath the main beam 27. A rack guard and guide 141 is at tached to themain beam providing a longitudinally extending trackway 142. A movablerack section 143 carries a roller 144 which rolls on the upper trackway142. Lower rollers 146 roll on the rack guard 141 and absorb any sidethrusts. Opposite the movable rack 143 is a stationary rack 148.Hydraulic hoses 150 lie in stacked loops within channels 151 and theopposite channels 151a of the movable rack section.

The movable rack section 143 is secured at the front to the end of thecrowd boom and travels with it. The hydraulic hoses are confined to thechannels 151, 151a in the retracted position, but as the boom isextended, that portion of the hoses stored in the fixed rack section 148is pulled by the movable rack section out of the channels 151. Themovable rack section is approximately twice as long as the fixed racksection giving it the linear capacity to accept the hoses from the fixedrack section in the fully extended position of the crowd boom asdepicted in FIG. 3.

OPERATION AND METHOD Reference will now be made primarily to FIGS. 1, 2,6 and 7. It will be assumed that the tree 140 (FIG. 6) had been growingwithin the slewing angle and reach (FIG. 2) of the processor asindicated by the points 38, 38', 39, 39' and at a ground elevationwithin the cutting zone A (FIG. 7) which may be either above or belowthe ground line of the machine and the operator has manipulated thegrapple 25 and the shear 22 so as to grasp the tree and has severed itnear the ground. If the cylinders 26b (FIG. 7) had been extended toaccommodate a tree growing at an angle away from the machine, they willbe retracted as the crowd boom is returned to the rearmost position asshown in FIG. 1. Referring now to FIG. 7 it is only necessary for theoperator to actuate the cylinder 26a atthis point and the tree willautomaticlly be lifted and oriented in the horizontal position with thedelimber carriage 34. The axial clamp 35 will have been opened toreceive the tree. It is important to note that the stack height of theshear 22 grapple 25 and clamp 35 extends only a relatively shortdistance up the tree and well below the point where one normallyencounters any limbs growing. Moreover, the butt of the tree whichextends between the shear 22 and the axial clamp 35 does not projectforwardly of the shear 22 when in its lowered position even with thecrowd boom fully retracted so that interference with a tree beingprocessed does not occur when slewing either to the right or left.

At this point. the axial clamp is actuated to firmly grip the tree andthe grapple 25 released. Cylinder 26a is now retracted returning thegrapple arm 26 for a second tree. While this is going on, the operatormerely actuates the automatic delimber control which starts thehydraulic motor 31 driving the delimber beam 33 and the delimbercarriage 34 (FIG. 6) stripping off the limbs of the tree 140 which is,of course, clamped against axial movement by the clamp 35. The tree,however, is not held against lateral movement since the clamp 35 permitsa limited pivotal motion and as the delimber carriage 34 travels alongthe tree it will bring the tree into alignment with the beam 33 orpossibly where the tree stem is crooked, cause the tree 140 to swingback and forth as the carriage moves longitudinally. At the point oftravel of the delimber carriage where either the tree diameter is toosmall to warrant further processing or where the carriage has reachedthe linear limit set for cam actuation, the topping knives 98 will bereleased to close upon the tree and top off the remaining unusableportion. This portion is carried rearwardly with the delimber carriageand drops off the back of the machine while the now precessed tree stemis clear of the delimber carriage. Clamp 35 is now opened permitting thestem to roll off of the delimber beam into the bunk 40. At this pointthe delimber carriage and delimber beam are recycled and the machine isready for a second tree which has, in the meantime, been cut and isbeing held upright by the grapple arm 26 in readiness to again load thede limber.

From the foregoing description of the operation of the machine it willbe understood that a primary advantage of the machine is that it offersmaximum productivity by minimizing the felling cycle time. This isaccomplished partly by limiting the slewing angle to that justsufficient to clear a path to drive the machine forward and byrestricting the reach of the crowd boom, preferably less than feet and 6feet is believed to be about optimum. In addition, the shear, treetransfer and delimber mechanisms are all in a common plane such that itis not necessary for the operator to have to reposition the tree fordelimbing after shearing. Furthermore, the felling cycle time ismaterially reduced by the parallel linkage which permits the operator toupright the tree after cutting and then rely on the linkage to align itin the horizontal axis of the delimber carriage without furtherattention or concentration on the part of the operator.

While only a single embodyment of our invention has been described indetail, it will be understood that each detailed description is intendedto be illustrative only and that various modifications and changes maybe made to our invention without department from the spirit and scope ofit. Therefore, the limits of our invention should be determined from theattached claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilage is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A tree harvester comprising a mobile frame carrying tree processingmeans to sever a standing tree, fell the tree backward over theharvester and remove limbs therefrom, said tree processing meanscomprising an elongated member mounted on the frame, a second elongatedmember mounted on the frame for reciprocation relative to the first, atrunnion mounting for both members on which they swivel together, treesevering means mounted on the second elongated member, limb removalmeans operable longitudinally on the first elongated member to removelimbs from a tree, tree transfer means mounted on the second elongatedmember for pivoting a severed tree backward over the machine 'imbf aposition lengthwise of the first elongated member and clamp means on thefirst elongated member for holding the severed tree stationary.

2. A tree harvester as defined in claim 1 wherein the tree processingmeans includes 'tree severing means pivotally mounted on the secondelongated member, said tree severing means, limb removal means and treetransfer means all acting in a common vertical plane such thatlateralmovement of a severed tree is not required. I

3. A tree harvester as defined in claim 2 wherein the tree transfermeans is operable between the tree severing means and limb removal meansfor grasping a tree closely adjacent the severed end and transferring itto the limb removal means by lifting the severed tree through an arehaving a substantially greater vertical component of motion thanhorizontal component through a cutting Zone extending above and belowthe ground line of the machine.

4. The tree harvester as defined in claim 3 wherein said tree transfermeans includes first and second arms pivoting from the end of saidsecond elongated member on spaced upper and lower pivots imparting aback-' ward turning motion to said tree such that a severed arms arepivoted upward.

5. The tree harvester as defined in claim 4 wherein said secondelongated member has a downwardly extending end portion and said firstarm'is longer than the second and is pivotally mounted on the distal endof said end portion defining a first pivotal location, said second armmounted on said end portion at a second pivotal location spaced abovethe' first and linkage means pivotally interconnecting said first andsecond arms at third and fourth pivotal locations at the o'ppo site endsof the first and second arms.

6. A mobile processor for full length trees mounted on a wheeled frame,said frame having a frontsection carried by ground engaging wheels and arear section hinged about a vertical axis to the front section carriedalso by ground engaging wheels and a pair of steering cylinders, one oneach side of the hinge axis actuatable for pivoting one frame sectionrelative to the other for maneuvering the machine through timber areas,a 1on gitudinally stationary beam member "mounted on the front sectionextending lengthwise of the frame, an elongated boom member reciprocallymounted on the front section for extension and retraction in a directionforwardly of said beam member, a trunnion mounting for both the beam andboom members on the front section providing an axis of rotation parallelto the hinge axis between the front and rear sections ab'ou't which boththe beam and boom members are rotatable as a unit, a tree felling headmounted on the boom member operable to sever a standing tree adjacentthe base and hold the tree stem in a substantially upright position,limb removal means mounted on the beam member operable longitudinallythereof for delimbing a severed tree stem, and tree transfer meansoperable for transferring the tree stem from the upright position to aposition generally overlying the beam member whereby said felling headmeans is free to sever a second tree while said limb removal meansdelimbs the first tree.

7. The processor according to claim 6 wherein a tree accumulator memberis mounted on the front section alongside said beam member and isrotatable as a unit with the beam and boom members ,said trunnionmounting providing rotational movement for the beam boom and accumulatormembers a limited extent to the right or left of the vehicle center linewhereby said beam, boom and acculator members are free to rotate as themobile processor moves on to the next tree to be severed.

8. The processor according to claim 7 wherein said boom member isreciprocable between a retracted position adjacent the front end of saidbeam member and an extended position forwardly thereof and said treetransfer means including first means pivoting in a vertical plane on theboom member and pivotally supporting said felling head means in oneposition adjacent the base of the tree and in a second position elevatedand rotated backward felling the tree lengthwise of the main beam andsecond means stationary adjacent the front of the main beam operable forholding the tree stem on the main beam when released by said fellinghead means and for releasing and directing the tree into saidaccumulator member after delimbing.

9. A tree harvester comprising a mobile frame an elongated membermounted on the frame, a second elongated member reciprocally mounted forextension and retraction forwardly of the first elongated member, atrunnion mounting on the frame for both elongated members providing thatthe two are stationary relative to each other for rotational movement,limb removal means operating longitudinally on the first elongatedmember to strip limbs from felled trees, felling head means including ashear and grapple operableto sever a tree adjacent the ground and holdit in an upright position tree transfer means pivotally mounted on saidsecond elongated member having first and second pivots,first and secondarms pivoting in a vertical plane about said first and second pivots,saidfirst arm having a pivotal attachement at the opposite end adjacentthe lower end of said felling head means and said second arm having apivotal connection at its opposite end with the felling head spacedabove said first arm pivot connection imparting a backward turningmovement to a severed tree in transposing it from an upright positionheld by the felling head means to a raised position lying lengthwise ofsaid first elongated member.

10. A tree harvester according to claim 9 wherein said topping meansoperable after said limb removal means has traveled a predeterminedlength of the tree stem for cutting off the upper portion thereof.

11. A tree harvester according to claim 10 wherein said first arm islonger than the second, the pivotal connection at the end of the secondarm with said felling head means comprising a link pivotally connectingthe end of the second arm intermediate the ends of the first arm so asto impart to the felling head means a backward turning movement as thefirst and second arms pivot upwardly.

12. A tree harvester as defined in claim 10 wherein the angle ofrotation of said trunnion mounting is not substantially greater than thewidth necessary to clear a path for the machine to travel through.

13. A combined tree harvester comprising a mobile frame having front andrear, wheeled frame sections pivotally connected about a vertical axis,a pair of steering cylinders, one on each side of the axis operable forturning one frame section relative to the other to maneuver said frame,two independent power sources. one in the front and one in the rearframe section, a

trunnion on the front frame section having a vertical axis of rotation,a stationary beam mounted on said trunnion rotatable thereon in ahorizontal are providing a first degree of movement in a planesufficiently above the ground line to provide clearance for said wheels,a crowd boom telescoping in the front end of said stationary beam andproviding a second degree of movement in a fore and aft direction from aretracted position adjacent the front frame section to an extendedposition, a grapple arm pivotally mounted on the end of said crowd boomand extending downwardly therefrom when lowered to a position adjacentthe ground, a first hydraulic cylinder connected between the crowd boomand grapple arm operable to pivot said arm in a vertical plane providinga third degree of movement, a combined shear and grapple head pivotallymounted on said arm, a second hydraulic cylinder connected between thearm and said shear and grapple head operable to rotate said head about ahorizontal axis providing a fourth degree of movement, said second,third and fourth degrees of movement being performed in a substantiallyvertical plane through said stationary beam, a delimber beamreciprocably mounted relative to said stationary beam and extensiblerearwardly thereof, a delimber and topping carriage having meansengageable with the tree for removing limbs along the stem and toppingoff the uppermost portion of the tree reciprocally mounted on the saiddelimber beam, drive means for the delimber beam and carriage, astationary clamp mounted on the main beam in front of said delimber beamand carriage and operable between an open position for receiving a treeand a closed, clamped position restraining a severed tree against axialmovement as said Carriage travels to remove the limbs and top of saidtree and the stack height of said head, clamp and carriage in the raisedposition of said grapple arm being sufficently compact such that delimbing commences closely adjacent the butt end of the tree.

14. The harvester as defined in claim l3 wherein one power source isconnected to said delimber drive means and said hydraulic cylinders andthe other power source is connected for driving said wheels whereby thevehicle may be maneuvered while a tree is being processed.

15. The harvester as defined in claim 14 wherein a bunk is attachedalong one side of the stationary beam and is movable therewith, saidbunk having a pair of pivoted arms which in the raised positionaccumulate tree stems in the delimbed and topped condition and in thelowered position drop said stem into a pile on the ground suitable forskidding.

16. A mobile tree harvester having a generally longitudinally extendingprocessor, a reciprocally mounted boom movable relative to saidprocessor and tree grapple and severing means carried on said boomhaving hydraulic cylinder means for operating said grapple and severingmeans characterized in that a plurality of hydraulic hoses containinghydraulic fluid are connected to a source of hydraulic fluid and to saidhydraulic cylinders, a hose rack including a first stationary racksection mounted on said processor, an extendible section mounted on saidboom being of sufficiently greater length than said stationary racksection so as to store substantially the entire length of said hoses,and a plurality of longitudinally extending channels in each racksection holding said hoses in stacked loops arrayed such that as theboom is extended and retracted, portions of said hose loops aretransferred from one rack section to the other.

1. A tree harvester comprising a mobile frame carrying tree processingmeans to sever a standing tree, fell the tree backward over theharvester and remove limbs therefrom, said tree processing meanscomprising an elongated member mounted on the frame, a second elongatedmember mounted on the frame for reciprocation relative to the first, atrunnion mounting for both members on which they swivel together, treesevering means mounted on the second elongated member, limb removalmeans operable longitudinally on the first elongated member to removelimbs from a tree, tree transfer means mounted on the second elongatedmember for pivoting a severed tree backward over the machine into aposition lengthwise of the first elongated member and clamp means on thefirst elongated member for holding the severed tree stationary.
 2. Atree harvester as defined in claim 1 wherein the tree processing meansincludes tree severing means pivotally mounted on the second elongatedmember, said tree severing means, limb removal means and tree transfermeans all acting in a common vertical plane such that lateral movementof a severed tree is not required.
 3. A tree harvester as defined inclaim 2 wherein the tree transfer means is operable between the treesevering means and limb removal means for grasping a tree closelyadjacent the severed end and transferring it to the limb removal meansby lifting the severed tree through an arc having a substantiallygreater vertical component of motion than horizontal component through acutting zone extending above and below the ground line of the machine.4. The tree harvester as defined in claim 3 wherein said tree transfermeans includes first and second arms pivoting from the end of saidsecond elongated member on spaced upper and lower pivots imparting abackward turning motion to said tree such that a severed tree willoverlie said first elongated member when the arms are pivoted upward. 5.The tree harvester as defined in claim 4 wherein said second elongatedmember has a downwardly extending end portion and said first arm islonger than the second and is pivotally mounted on the distal end ofsaid end portion defining a first pivotal location, said second armmounted on said end portion at a second pivotal location spaced abovethe first and linkage means pivotally interconnecting said first andsecond arms at third and fourth pivotal locations at the opposite endsof the first and second arms.
 6. A mobile processor for full lengthtrees mounted on a wheeled frame, said frame having a front sectioncarried by ground engaging wheels and a rear section hinged about avertical axis to the front section carried also by ground engagingwheels and a pair of steering cylinders, one on each side of the hingeaxis actuatable for pivoting one frame section relative to the other formaneuvering the machine through timber areas, a longitudinallystationary beam member mounted on the front section extending lengthwiseof the frame, an elongated boom member reciprocally mounted on the frontsection for extension and retraction in a direction forwardly of saidbeam member, a trunnion mounting for both the beam and boom members onthe front section providing an axis of rotation parallel to the hingeaxis between the front and rear sections about which both the beam andboom members are rotatable as a unit, a tree felling head mounted on theboom member operable to sever a standing tree adjacent the base and holdthe tree stem in a substantially upright position, limb removal meansmounted on the beam member operable longitudinally thereof for delimbinga severed tree stem, and tree transfer means operable for transferringthe tree stem from the upright position to a position generallyoverlying the beam member whereby said felling heaD means is free tosever a second tree while said limb removal means delimbs the firsttree.
 7. The processor according to claim 6 wherein a tree accumulatormember is mounted on the front section alongside said beam member and isrotatable as a unit with the beam and boom members said trunnionmounting providing rotational movement for the beam boom and accumulatormembers a limited extent to the right or left of the vehicle center linewhereby said beam, boom and acculator members are free to rotate as themobile processor moves on to the next tree to be severed.
 8. Theprocessor according to claim 7 wherein said boom member is reciprocablebetween a retracted position adjacent the front end of said beam memberand an extended position forwardly thereof and said tree transfer meansincluding first means pivoting in a vertical plane on the boom memberand pivotally supporting said felling head means in one positionadjacent the base of the tree and in a second position elevated androtated backward felling the tree lengthwise of the main beam and secondmeans stationary adjacent the front of the main beam operable forholding the tree stem on the main beam when released by said fellinghead means and for releasing and directing the tree into saidaccumulator member after delimbing.
 9. A tree harvester comprising amobile frame an elongated member mounted on the frame, a secondelongated member reciprocally mounted for extension and retractionforwardly of the first elongated member, a trunnion mounting on theframe for both elongated members providing that the two are stationaryrelative to each other for rotational movement, limb removal meansoperating longitudinally on the first elongated member to strip limbsfrom felled trees, felling head means including a shear and grappleoperable to sever a tree adjacent the ground and hold it in an uprightposition tree transfer means pivotally mounted on said second elongatedmember having first and second pivots, first and second arms pivoting ina vertical plane about said first and second pivots, said first armhaving a pivotal attachement at the opposite end adjacent the lower endof said felling head means and said second arm having a pivotalconnection at its opposite end with the felling head spaced above saidfirst arm pivot connection imparting a backward turning movement to asevered tree in transposing it from an upright position held by thefelling head means to a raised position lying lengthwise of said firstelongated member.
 10. A tree harvester according to claim 9 wherein saidtopping means operable after said limb removal means has traveled apredetermined length of the tree stem for cutting off the upper portionthereof.
 11. A tree harvester according to claim 10 wherein said firstarm is longer than the second, the pivotal connection at the end of thesecond arm with said felling head means comprising a link pivotallyconnecting the end of the second arm intermediate the ends of the firstarm so as to impart to the felling head means a backward turningmovement as the first and second arms pivot upwardly.
 12. A treeharvester as defined in claim 10 wherein the angle of rotation of saidtrunnion mounting is not substantially greater than the width necessaryto clear a path for the machine to travel through.
 13. A combined treeharvester comprising a mobile frame having front and rear, wheeled framesections pivotally connected about a vertical axis, a pair of steeringcylinders, one on each side of the axis operable for turning one framesection relative to the other to maneuver said frame, two independentpower sources. one in the front and one in the rear frame section, atrunnion on the front frame section having a vertical axis of rotation,a stationary beam mounted on said trunnion rotatable thereon in ahorizontal arc providing a first degree of movement in a planesufficiently above the ground line to provide clearance for said wheels,a crowd boom telescoping in the frOnt end of said stationary beam andproviding a second degree of movement in a fore and aft direction from aretracted position adjacent the front frame section to an extendedposition, a grapple arm pivotally mounted on the end of said crowd boomand extending downwardly therefrom when lowered to a position adjacentthe ground, a first hydraulic cylinder connected between the crowd boomand grapple arm operable to pivot said arm in a vertical plane providinga third degree of movement, a combined shear and grapple head pivotallymounted on said arm, a second hydraulic cylinder connected between thearm and said shear and grapple head operable to rotate said head about ahorizontal axis providing a fourth degree of movement, said second,third and fourth degrees of movement being performed in a substantiallyvertical plane through said stationary beam, a delimber beamreciprocably mounted relative to said stationary beam and extensiblerearwardly thereof, a delimber and topping carriage having meansengageable with the tree for removing limbs along the stem and toppingoff the uppermost portion of the tree reciprocally mounted on the saiddelimber beam, drive means for the delimber beam and carriage, astationary clamp mounted on the main beam in front of said delimber beamand carriage and operable between an open position for receiving a treeand a closed, clamped position restraining a severed tree against axialmovement as said carriage travels to remove the limbs and top of saidtree and the stack height of said head, clamp and carriage in the raisedposition of said grapple arm being sufficently compact such thatdelimbing commences closely adjacent the butt end of the tree.
 14. Theharvester as defined in claim 13 wherein one power source is connectedto said delimber drive means and said hydraulic cylinders and the otherpower source is connected for driving said wheels whereby the vehiclemay be maneuvered while a tree is being processed.
 15. The harvester asdefined in claim 14 wherein a bunk is attached along one side of thestationary beam and is movable therewith, said bunk having a pair ofpivoted arms which in the raised position accumulate tree stems in thedelimbed and topped condition and in the lowered position drop said steminto a pile on the ground suitable for skidding.
 16. A mobile treeharvester having a generally longitudinally extending processor, areciprocally mounted boom movable relative to said processor and treegrapple and severing means carried on said boom having hydrauliccylinder means for operating said grapple and severing meanscharacterized in that a plurality of hydraulic hoses containinghydraulic fluid are connected to a source of hydraulic fluid and to saidhydraulic cylinders, a hose rack including a first stationary racksection mounted on said processor, an extendible section mounted on saidboom being of sufficiently greater length than said stationary racksection so as to store substantially the entire length of said hoses,and a plurality of longitudinally extending channels in each racksection holding said hoses in stacked loops arrayed such that as theboom is extended and retracted, portions of said hose loops aretransferred from one rack section to the other.